I walked into my office to check on my daughter who was putting some orders into the computer. The orders were for the ThirtyOne party she was hosting. As I walked into the room, one of my cousins was talking to Breanne and my cousin was crying. Startled, I said ‘what’s wrong? What are you crying about?’ Breanne responded ‘because of you!’ My cousin said ‘no, no, it’s not you.’ Then she proceeded to share with me a diagnosis her husband had received. I told her I was so sorry and hugged her and then left the room so they could continue talking. Later that day Breanne told me the rest of the story.
It seems that she was, indeed, crying about something I had done, unknowingly. She said she was having a horrible day several weeks ago, she was feeling weary and hopeless with the bad news she had just received. She continued to share by saying, then her phone rang and she looked at it and it was me calling. She said ‘how could she have known?’ She said ‘after I talked with Kim I knew it could make it through this, I had hope again.’
When Breanne shared this with me, I knew exactly what she was talking about. One day a few weeks ago I was sitting in my favorite spot, spending time with God when He told me to call her and tell her I loved her and if she ever needed anything, I was here for her.
I said ‘O God, come on, we never talk, we are cousins but not close, she is not even a Christian, they already think I am odd, they are going to think I’m nuts.’ However, the urge to call her and say these things would not go away…I picked up my phone and called the number. She answered. I said ‘hey____ how are you?’ She said ‘fine.’ I said ‘I know I don’t often say these thing to you and it may sound odd, but I called to say ‘I love you and I am here for you.’ She said ‘okay?’ I said ‘I just wanted you to know that and to know that if you ever need anything or anyone to talk to, I am here and I love you.’
I hung up thinking she thought I was nuts! She had no reaction at the time. What I didn’t know was that God was seeing a weary heart breaking under the pressure of the situation and God wanted her to be encouraged and to know, everything is going to be okay. We serve an awesome God.
As Breanne shared this with me I cried. For her and for me. You see, many times God has me do things like this, say things to people, but I don’t often know the other side. I just say what He tells me to say and move on, the rest is none of my business. It blessed me beyond measure to know that He used me to speak a word to someone that caused them to arise to new hope. I am so thankful for that. And not only that, but it opened a door for her to be able to see that GOD sees her pain and He is thinking about her and HE wants her encouraged. It opened her heart to GOD.
Proverbs 15:23 says; “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”
Isaiah 50:4; “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.”
The Bible teaches us that we can and do have a word in season for those how are weary from the battle or the circumstances life has thrown their way. That word can change everything for them, I know it did for my cousin.
The ‘tongue of the learned’ simply means a tongue that has been taught, by God, to speak words in due season to the weary. God will teach you to give words of encouragement if you only ask Him to.
The Bible also tells me that I am blessed to be a blessing….as are you…today set your heart to be a blessing to someone…in word and in deed. And may God be glorified in all He places in your heart to do.
